Los Angeles music composer to speak at SSU

November 2, 2013

Mikael Jacobson, Los Angeles area music composer who composed the music for documentary films “River Voices” and “Beyond These Walls,” will be speaking at Shawnee State University at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4 in the University Center Sodexo Ballroom.

Jacobson began playing piano when he was six years old. He has his Master of Arts in music composition from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a certificate in film scoring from the University of Southern California, a Bachelor of Arts in music performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Professional Musicians Certificate from the Hollywood Musicians Institute.

“Although the Beatles had been broken up for close to a decade, I heard them for the 1st time when I was 11,” Jacobson said. “As cliché as it sounds, the second I heard them I knew without any question I wanted to pursue a life of music.”

He teaches a variety of music genres at his private studio in the Coachella Valley in California. Jacobson is versatile teaching everything from classical and jazz to country and rock on several instruments — guitar, piano, bass, drums and ukulele.

Jacobson has scored and composed music for numerous films and commercials. He also records and produces CDs in his own recording studio.

John Lorentz, SSU’s Assistant Provost for International Education, is producer and Nathan Lorentz is director/cinematographer for “Beyond These Walls.”

“I’ve got to mention that even though I was the one to put the notes down on paper, the musical direction owes everything to Nathan,” Jacobson said. “His ideas and feedback shaped the score. He’s an incredible director to work with and it’s rare to find creative connections like the one I share with him.”

Jacobson will be discussing the process of writing music to film, how it differs from purely writing music and about his processes in writing music for “Beyond These Walls.”

The event is sponsored by the Jane M.G. Foster Distinguished Lecture Series. For more information, contact John Lorentz at 740-351-3223 or e-mail jlorentz@shawnee.edu.